Notes

"A Memoir and Genealogy of John Poore": jonathan, born Feb. 25, 1678, settled on the old homestead at Newbury Neck, where his children were born, and where he died, June 30, 1742. He was a juryman most of the time for many years, until just previous to his decease. On important committees, tything-man and one of the selectmen of the town.

About the time of his father's decease, he became of age. At this time he engaged in the real estate business, which he followed during the remainder of his life. In this respect he was more like his uncle Joseph, than his father and grandfather. He sold to his uncle Joseph Morse, a right in a "Rate Lott," that had belonged to his grandfather, in 1701. He bought of J. Wainright, on the Neck by Rowley, that had been owned by his grandfather and uncles Henry and Joseph Poore, in 1702, and sold it to his brother John Poore, in 1705. he exchanged land with Ezekiel Northend, in 1706. he bought of Joseph Ilsley, in 1711. He with Hale, Thurston and Plumers of the Neck, sold their right in common lands on the Neck to the Plumers, in 1715. He bought of Thomas Palmer and Jonathan Hopkinson, two parcels of land in Rowley, 1716. he sold to John Stewart, land in Rowley, 1721. He bought of Edward and Josiah Bishop, woodland near Thirla's farm, 1728, and sold it to Jonathan Plummer, the next year. He sold to Richard Adams, land in Newbury, 1731. he bought of Thomas Lambert, of Rowley, some of great swamp in Rowley, on Newbury line, 1736.

In his will, made Sept. 15, 1737, and proved July 5, 1742, he mentioned all his children, excepting the three that died in infancy.

"A Memoir and Genealogy of John Poore": Jonathan, born on the old homestead of his ancestors, January 20, 1737; he there passed his life until its close, March 19, 1807. For a number of years he kept a public house. He was always greatly interested in military affairs, collecting a company of volunteers, and marching to the front in 1775. He afterwards commanded the company stationed in that part of Newbury. He took an active part in the French and Indian war and in the Revolution. He was appointed one of the committee for supplying the continental soldiers in 1778.
Capt. Poore served the town from the time he was about thirty till near his decease, by filling various offices, and was several times on the jury when the county courts were in session.
About two years before his decease he made a will, in which he mentioned all his children with the exception of two, who died in infancy.

"A Memoir and Genealogy of John Poore": Samuel settled on the homestead with his father, and died there June 6, 1878; was justice of the Peace, Selectman of the town, etc., but declined the military office of captain, which was offered him.

"A Merrill Memorial": Jonathan Merrill lived at brown's Spring in Newbury, half a mile wet of Artichoke River (now West Newbury). He was an ensign in Capt. William Davenport's company at the taking of Quebec, in June 1759.

"A Potter-Richardson Memorial": Robert Burdick came in 1651 from England, settling in Newport, Rhode Island, where he was baptized November 19, 1652. He married November 2, 1655, Ruth Hubbard, 1640-1691, daughter of Samuel and Tacy (Cooper) Hubbard of Newport. He was admitted a freeman in 1657. By 1662, they had moved to Westerly, Rhode Island. She died in Westerly in 1691, and he died in 1692.

He graduated from Yale in 1740; served as tutor there for four years, became clerk of the Probate Court and afterwards Judge of that Court; represented New Haven in the General Assembly for nine sessions and later was a Judge of the County Court. For the last thirty years of his life he was Deacon in the First church. His epitaph truly states that "the last & much the Greater part of his life was Spent in the Service & to the acceptance of the Publick." (N.E. Col.Soc. Papers, 3, p. 607.)

"John Whiting, Esq., Clerk of the Courts was also a resident of this neighborhood. He was asked, previous to the possession of the town by the enemy, whether he would not make his escape. His reply was that he had not borne arms, that he was loyal to the king, and pointing to an engraving of King George, which hung on the wall of the room, he added: 'This will protect me.' but when the soldiers came into the house, they did not respect his claim of loyalty. He was holding an office under the "Rebel Government" and moreover was a Deacon in the First church, and they treated him much as the English Cavaliers would treat a Roundhead. He was carried off as a prisoner and so summarily, it is said, that he had not time to put on his wig." (New Haven Colony Historical Society Papers, 2, p. 75.)

His father being one of the Governor's Assistants and Judge of the Superior Court in 1740, he was placed at the head of his class at Yale in family rank. During the year 1741/2, he was Rector of the Hopkins Grammar School.

"After his wife's death, Bridget, George wen to England, served under Cromwell in the army of the Parliment, won distintion, was wounded at Naseby, was nursed at the house of John Borodell, by his daughter Ann- whom he married and returned to Roxbury, and finally settled at Stonington, Conn."

"George and Ann were both remarkable for magnificent personal appearance, and for force of mind and character. She was always called "Lady Ann." They held foremost place in Stonington. He has been described as "the Miles Standish of the settlement," but he was a greater and more brilliant soldier than Miles Standish. He had no equal in any of the colonies, for conducting a war against the Indians, excepting, perhaps, Captain John Mason."

Excerpt from "Rev. John Eliot's Record of Church Members, Roxbury, Mass.": This winter we had a gracious p'vidence of God befell two brothers Edward & George Dennison, who had been proude incendiarys of some trobls among us, and full of distemp', and disaffection. but the Lord left them to open and shamefull drundennesse at Boston: espec'.edward. We did so greatly humble them both yet though George (being a membr) was excomvnicated, yet in a short time was taken in againe. And Edward humbling himselfe so effectually yet he was also speedyly received in to the Church, this is the tryvmph of grace, to magnify grace by sinne.

Excerpt from "Direct Descendants of Capt. George Denison": George's bro, Gen Danl Denison wrote in 1672 "My two brothers, Edward and George had all the Estate of my father left between athem, being both marryed long before my father's death; my Brother George buried his first Wife in the year 1643, went into England was a souldier ther above a year, was at the Battle of York, or Marton Moore, where he did good service, was after ward taken Prisoner, but got free and having maried a second Wife he returned to New England the year before our Mother died, and not long after ward removed himelf to New Ldon near whereunto at Stonington he now liveth, having 3 sons John, William, and George, 4 or 5 daughters......3 daughters are married to Stanton, Palmer and Cheesebrook all living at present in the same town."
He served as Deputy to the Conn Gen Court from New London Sept 1653, May 1654 and Feb 1657, and from Stonington Oct 1671, Oct 1674, May 1678, Oct 1682, May and Oct 1683, May, July and Oct 1684, May and Oct 1685, May 1686, May 1687, Sept 1689, May Sept and Oct 1693, and May 1694. When 1st mentioned in "Conn Col Recds" he is called "Captain," based upon his service and commission in England. He served on the War Comm for New London in 1653 when war threatened with Dutch. Although 56 he served as capt in King Philip's War 1676 in command of New London County troops and second in command of the Conn Army under Maj Robert Treat. He was ap'pted Provost Marshal May 1677. He was Capt of volunteer troops against the enemy Sept 1689.

"Austin's Gen. Dic. of R.I." says he came to New England at the accession of Charles II, i.e., about 1660. His son, Thomas had preceded him. it has been said that he came after the death of his son and took charge of his grandchildren, but he and Thomas witnessed a deed march 9, 1666, so he must have come before that date. He is also said to have been a cavalry officer in one of Cromwell's regiments. His tombstone and hose of his descendants for three generations, still stand in the old Newport Buying Ground.

"Autobiographies of Fox Valley Pioneers" - Rodolphus Padelford removed from the city of Buffalo, Erie County, New York, and first arrived in Elgin, Illinois, on 19 October 1842. He first resided in the City of Elgin on lots 11 and 12, block #1 James T. Gifford's addition.

Clerk of the Baptist Church of Elgin - 35 years.
Treasurer town of Elgin 34 years - Town Clerk 28 years
Clerk of the Baptist Assn. - 31 years.
Deacon Baptist Church of Elgin - 30 years
Clerk of the City of Elgin - 20 years
Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas of City of Elgin & City Court of Elgin - 21 years
Sec. of the Board of Trustees of Illinois Northern Hospital for the Insane 8 1/2 years.

"Autobiographies of Fox Valley Pioneers" - Manly Padelford removed from the town of Malahide, Canada West (Middlesex County) and first arrived in Elgin, Illinois, in the Spring of 1843. He first resided upon what is now known as the Heath Place, Lot 8, Block 5 in original town plat of James T. Gifford.

Military History - He was Colonel of a Regiment of Militia in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, in 1817 at which time he moved from Savoy, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, to Sloans Ville, Schoharie County, New York.

Manly Padelfor died in 1848. He had been totally blind for 25 years previous to his death. After he became blind (1823) he moved his family to Malahide, Middlesex Co., Canada West, where he lived until 1842 when he moved to Rockford, Illinois. In 1843 he moved to Elgin where he lived until his death.

My great-grandfather was one of two boys, who, by tradition in the family, came with their father from England about A.D. 1700, and settled on or near Albemarle Sound, in Tyrrell County, North Carolina.
One of the two boys, while hunting strayed cows, was stolen by the Indians, and never heard of afterwards.
The remaining boy, my great-grandfather, married, and had three sons, William, Joshua, and Zebulon, born about A.D. 1730 in said county,
My grandfather on my father's side, said Joshua, had six sons, Richard, Joseph, Isaac, John, William, and Jesse (my father), and one daughter, Elizabeth.
My grandfather on my mother's side, said Zebulon, had two sons, Joseph and Joshua, and seven daughters, Priscilla, Keziah, Mary (my mother), Nancy Esther, Deborah, and Elizabeth, called Milley.
My Uncle John married his cousin, my Aunt Priscilla; and my father married his cousin, said Mary.
In A.D. 1798, my father and his brother, Uncle John, with their families, also my mother's mother and her children, moved from North Carolina to West Tennessee, near father's. Uncle Joshua, mothers brother, married in Tennessee.... He was a famous fiddler, and his younger sisters loved to dance to his music.
Mother's sisters were all handsome, springtly, and graceful, and made a merry family. When a lad, many a time have I seen Aunts Esther and Debby, who were slender, lithe, and gay, dance before the large glass by the half hour...
I remember when Millie married peter Swanson. Millie and Debby used to play tricks on the Swanson brothers (Dick and Peter), when they saw them coming, by hiding or running to a neighbor's but they boys finally caught the deer.
We heard that old Mrs. Swanson--who was a great, heavy woman---did not want her boys to marry those gay Tarkington girls, for fear they would be danced out of everything.
General Zollicoffer, killed at Mill springs, married a daughter of Debby and Dick Swanson. Millie and Esther married before the shaking of the earth, Debby after.
Aft. Rev. John Pope began to preach at our house, father would not allow any more balls, as they used to hae there, and the girls were quite displeased at his determination.
My mother's brother Joseph, running, stepped on a cane stub, and died of lockjaw.......

"Belden/Baildon" from the files of Stephen M. Lawson: John's name is not found in the 1641/2 Protestation Returns for Heptonstall, and he likely had relocated to Sowerby. Daughter Sarah BALDON (of Aryingden) was bap. may 4, 1634 at Heptonstall, Yorkshire.

"Belden/Baildon" from the files of Stephen M. Lawson: Richard may have been either the Richard BEALDON of Langfield who was buried May 7, 1619 at Heptonstall, Yorkshire, or Richard BALDON of Parkhouse, Pyanthorne, Gisburn, who was buried May 20, 1633 at Gisburn, Yorkshire.

This honored and highly esteem citizen of North Salem township, Westchester County, was born July 12, 1822, on the farm where he still continues to reside. His great-grandfather, Samuel Brown, was born in 1734, in Stamford, England, and later emigrated to America, locating in Stamford, Connecticut. In 1772 he came to Delancey Township, now known as North Salem, in Westchester County, New York, where his death occurred, in 1815. His wife Susan, who was born March 28, 1737, lived to the extreme old age of one hundred and three years. their children were Rebecca, Mrs. Abby Palmer, Susanna, Nathan, Prudence, Samuel W., Mrs. McGillavry and Mrs. Lamb.

Nathan Brown, the grandfather of Francis D., was born in Connecticut February 20, 1767, and in early manhood married Miss Lobdell, by whom he had four children - Mary, Thomas (father of our subject), Abby and Ann. For his second wife he married a Miss Allen, and they had one child, whom they named Susan. Nathan Brown and both his wives died in this county.

thomas Brown, our subject's father, was born and reared on the old homestead where his son is now living, and throughout life engaged in agricultural pursuits there. He was one of the leading and prominent citizens of his community, was a soldier in the war of 1812, and active member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and died June 24, 1857, at the age of sixty-three years. In early life he married Miss Sally Williams, of Bedford, a daughter of James and Polly Williams, who were related to the Lounsberrys of this county. Mrs. Brown departed this life November 4, 1891, at the age of ninety-eight years. She was a devout Christian, kind and charitable at all times; and it is safe to say that she did more work in the Methodist Episcopal church than any other woman of the congregation to which she belonged. In her family were one son (our subject) and four daughters, all residents of North Salem township, the daughters being: Susan, the wife of Clark Lobdell; Mary, widow of Hiram Reynolds; Chloe, the widow of Charles Bloomer; and Clarissa, the wife of Martin Todd.

On the home farm Mr. Brown early became familiar with every department of farm work, and he is recognized as one of the most through and skillful agriculturists of his community. His literary education was obtained in the public schools and the old Salem Academy. At the age of twenty-seven he married Miss Almira P. Frost, of the same town, a daughter of Stedwell and Eliza (Fowler) Frost, both of whom died in that township. Mrs. Brown departed this life in 1865, leaving two children: Elbert D., and Mary E., now the wife of James Colwell, of New York city, by whom she had one son - Francis, deceased, and a daughter, Mary F. Elbert D. grew to manhood upon the home farm and February 20, 1878 married Miss Frances I. Stevens, of Delaware county, New York, a daughter of James W. and Catherine (Christie) Stevens. They have had four children, two whom, Almira C. and Francis D., Jr., are living. Our subject was agin married in 1868, his second union being with Miss Jane E. Landrine, of Tarrytown, this county. She died November 25, 1892, leaving no children.

In his political predilections Mr. Brown has always been a Democrat, and for the long period of twenty-four years he most efficiently served his fellow citizens in the capacity of road commissioner. He has always taken a most active part in church and Sunday school work, as a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, being for half a century superintendent of the Sunday-school, and he is therefore well known throughout the country in this part of New York state for his efficiency in that line. Although seventy-six years of age he is still well preserved, for nature deals kindly with the man who abuses not her laws, and he has an extensive circle of friends and acquaintances who esteem him highly for his genuine worth.

Sophia U. Lacy was William's second wife. She and her only surviving child res. at East Jaffrey, New Hampshire. She was employed at the East Jaffrey Public Library for eight years; before marriage, was a teacher. She has had many bereavements. Five promising children died in childhood of diphtheria, and her oldest daughter, a very beautiful young lady, died suddenly of heart failure.

"Connecticut Ancestry": Daniel Weed 3rd and Keziah, wife of Daniel Weed 3rd, were already members of the Stamford Congregational Church in December, 1746 when a complete listing was made by the incoming minister, the Rev. Noah Welles.

This Daniel Weed is easily confused with his second cousin, another contemporary Daniel Weed (Daniel, John, Jonas). In fact, responsible genealogists have reached differing conclusions over the years regarding their careers. Edward Franklin Weed (Genealogical Notebook, Weed Family Genealogical Collection (GE-24), New Canaan Historical Society, 58-9), perhaps the most knowledgeable Weed researcher of all, reached the conclusion that this present Daniel Weed married Susannah Garnsey, without explaining his reasoning. This marriage was also reported by William Applebie Daniel Eardeley, a contemporary of E.F. Weed's, whose work also survives entirely in manuscript. Paul Prindle also followed this path in his outstanding essay on the Weed family for his Gillespie Ancestry, which is so useful for the earlier generations of this family.

In the course of the present investigation, the conclusions of Mssrs. Weed and Eardeley were given great weight because of the depth of their previous analysis. unfortunately, their conclusion that this present Daniel Weed, son of Lt. Daniel, had married Sussannah Garnsey had to be abandoned in the light of many significant discrepancies that arose in trying to make the primary records fit this situation. For example, as alread noted, it was this Daniel Weed who was generally known as Daniel "3rd" when paired with his wife Keziah in the Stamford Congregational Church records, and also known as Daniel "3rd" in the same time period when mentioned by his father Lt. Daniel, in the land records. The Susannah Garnsey marriage must therefore instead be assigned to Daniel Weed (Daniel, John, Jonas), his second cousin.....

"Connecticut Ancestry": Althought no specific passenger list has survived for the trip, many authorities have claimed that Miles Merwin came to America on board the ship "Mary & John" in its voyage of 20 March 1629/30 (which preceded the sailing of the Winthrop Fleet by about 2 weeks). The claim was based on the fact that Abigal (Searle) Branker, widow of schoolmaster John Branker of Dorchester, Massachusetts and Windsor, Connecticut, and also of the Rev. John Warham of Dorchester, Massachusetts and Windsor, Connecticut, and also of the Rev. John Warham of Windsor, was known to have been an aunt of Miles Merwin. However, although Rev. Mr. Warham was a member of the "Mary & John" party in 1630, it appears that the Brankers did not migrate until 1632. Even if Miles Merwin did travel to America in 1632 in the company of his (presumed) aunt Abigail Brnaker, as may certainly be possible, or sometime later, he was apparently NOT a passenger on the "Mary & John". Recent scholarship has accepted this vie and does not include Miles Merwin among the settlers of New England through 1633.

In 1635, when the Warham party left Dorchester, Massachusetts by overland trail to settle what became the town of Windsor, Connecticut, the young Miles Merwin (age about 12 years) was thought by earlier researchers to have been with them, traveling with the Brankers. Richardson believes, however, that Merwin may have come to New England on board the ship "Susan and Ellen" as late as 1640, in company with his uncle, John Tinker, but this, too is speculation.

Regardless of how or when he arrived here, the first record we have of Miles Merwin in America was of a land arrangement he made with a Mr. Whiting in Windsor in about 1644. Miles Merwin gave testimony in a court case of 1684 in which he "aged about 60 years" testified that he had obtained rights to work a parcel of and in windsor from Mr. William Whiting of Hartford. No date was given, but other testimony by John Dumbleton (who was a servant of Mr Whiting) indicated that Dumbleton had obtained the same piece of land in 1639 and worked it himself for about 4 years. If Merwin actually did follow Dumbleton on this land, then he would have taken it up in about 1644. The latest he could have obtained these rights was in 1648, since Mr. Whiting died in 1649.

About 1653, he moved to Milford, Connecticut at the invitation of the town and with some incentives provided, due to his skill as a tanner. His moving to Milford was apparently to his advantage, considering the prosperity he enjoyed there and his receipt of several substantial grants and divisions of land from the town. It was apparently not, however, to the liking of his (first wife's) aunt Abigail Branker when he left Windsor with his young family. She had made a will in which she named him executor and principal legatee "for he and his children were her only relatives in the new World." On her death bed in 1684, she made a nuncupative will that named two Miles' children to receive certain amounts, but declared that Miles himself was not to receive anything beyond what he had already received during her lifetime. Based on this nuncupative will, amounts were eventually distributed to all of Miles children but not to him. He contested the probate of the nuncupative will in 1685, but without success.

Although Miles Merwin apparently never lived in Stamford, his third wife received a considerable amount of land there through the settlement of Daniel Scofield's estate. These lands were described and entered into the Stamford Land Records on 29 Jun 1687, "Entre to goodwife Murrin to her and hers forever being lands of her former husband Scofields collected from settlement by the court & agreement between her & her sons Danil & John Scofield and now entered in the records."

A couple of days later, on 1 July 1687, John Scofield entered a deed in the Stamford Land Records by which, "I Sarah Marin of Milford wife of Miles Marin" had sold to "my loveing son John Scofield of Stamford" her 1/3 part of Daniel Scofield's home lot on 13 November 1678.

Miles Merwin provided well for all of his children during his lifetime, and additionally in his will, made on 5 May 1695 and probated in Milford in June 1697. After providing for his wife's amply support as long as she remained his widow (as it turned out, she died within the next year), he left L100 to each of 4 sons, with a double portion to John, the eldest son: L 50 to each of his 6 daughters; L 100 each to the eldest grandchild in each of the 10 families; and a Bible to each grandchild. He also left legacies to several stepchildren, and named his sons John and Miles as co-executors.

"Connecticut Ancestry": Austin Smith of Stamford was born about 1728, location still unknown but possibly in Huntington, Long Island, and died "suddenly" at Stamford in 1817 (only the year given), age 89 years. These dates all result from a single entry in the Stamford Congregation Church records, and no other (Connecticut) record of his birth or baptism or death or burial has been found. Wherever necessary to distinguish him from the other Austin Smiths, the qualifier "of Stamford" will be used.

Austin Smith married Sarah Knapp at Stamford on 17 August 1752. She was born on 5 June 1730, the daughter of Peter Knapp and his first wife Elizabeth Slason, who were married at Stamford on 30 June 1726. One source gives her date of death as 1817, bur I have been unable to confirm that with any primary records. Her younger half-sister Deborah Knapp married Capt. Amos Smith (of the Henry Smith family), and her cousin Martha Slason married Zephaniah Weed, uncle of Jacob Weed..

He first appeared on the Stamford Grand List of 1754 with a valuation o 26-4-0, and was consistently taxed as a property owner in Stamford from that time until his death.

He appeared a witness to several deeds made by nathaniel Seely on 1 January 1761, along with John Knapp, Jr. His association with these people in 1761 may be a clue to his identity, yet to be decoded. Another appearance as witness in 1767 is more straightforward. On 17 March 1767, Caleb Smith, Sarah Smith widow of Amos Smith Deceased, Amos Smith, and Rebecca Brown daughter of Nathan Brown Deceased, all of stamford, sold 6t acres at "Clapboard Hill or Witch Pin Ridge" to Daniel Lockwood. the witnesses were Austin Smith and Abraham Davenport (later Judge and Revolutionary War leader in the connecticut General Assembly). Austin Smith's appearance in this case was probably due to the fact that his wife, Sarah (Knapp) Smith, was half-sister to Deborah Knapp, who had recently married in 1765 Amos Smith (Jr.) one of the grantors.

Sometime between 1760 and 1772, Austin Smith was named guardian of one Jesse Weed in Stamford. The only candidate Jesse Weed seems to be the son of Nehemiah Weed, born in 1755. Nehemiah was the same person who was chosen (in 1783) as guardian by Jacob Weed, later to become the husband of a granddaughter of Austin Smith... However, there are serious difficulties with this interpretation. Nehemiah Weed made his will in 1785, and was therefore living long after Jesse would have reached his majority. Furthermore, his son Jesse is presumed to have died young, since he was not named in Nehemiah's will. Nehemiah also had a grandson Jesse Weed, son of Ebenezer Pittit Weed, but this Jesse was born in 1776, and therefore too late to be the subject of this entry. This guardianship is therefore not explained, but may be another key to Austin Smith's identity......

Regardless of his parents or place of birth, our subject Austin Smith left Stamford from the time of his marriage in 1752 until his death in 1817. He was a party to land transactions there in 1753, 1756, 1763, 1767, 1772 and 1784, and is always called Austin Smith of Stamford in those documents. His children were recorded there in birth or baptismal records of 1752, 1753, 1755, 1757, 1759, 1762, 1763, 1765, and 1771. It is quite impossible that such a person could have been "overseer of roads" in Orange County, NY in 1765 and "a few years later" led a company of Orange County Militia as claimed by Mather and his successors.

His first appearance in the Stamford land records was when Austin Smith and Sarah his wife sold their right in the Southern Commons or Sequest Land in Stamford on 28 March 1753 to John Waterbury. the right "came down to us from the sd. Sarah's grand father and grand mother John and Mary Slason late of sd. Stamford deceased, & ye right was originally part of Old Mr. John Slason & George Slason & Old Mr. Stephen Holmes right a part of each of their lists in the year 1687". About a month later, on 30 April 1753, Austin Smith was a witness to a deed between Nathaniel Seeley Jr. and John Waterbury, perhaps having also to do with this former Slason and Holmes property.

Austin Smith does not appear as a grantee before 1763, and we therefore have no record of exactly where Austin and Sarah Smith were living in Stamford for the first 10 years or so of their marriage. then, on 5 January 1763, Daniel Smith of New Fairfield, Fairfield County, Connecticut sold 13 t acres of land in the Roxbury district of Stamford to Austin Smith for 41 pounds one shilling and seven pence New York money. it does not seem that this was Daniel Smith's homelot, since no dwelling house or barn is mentioned (only appurtneances). The deed was witnessed by John Holly and Nathaniel Knapp and the property was bounded as follows: (W) by Bedford road; (N) by land of the wives of Isaac Weed and Jonathan Whiting: (E) partly by land conveyed this day to Nathaniel Knapp & "Partly by my brother Amos Smith's land,"(S) partly by my own land and partly by Amos Smith. the grantor was therefore Daniel Smith (Joseph, Daniel,Henry) an uncle of Capt. Amos Smith, already mentioned above.

Six years later, on 11 March 1769, Austin Smith sold his 13 acre parcel on the Bedford Road at Roxbury for 100 pounds New York Money to timothy Lawrence of Greenwich. the land had been considerably improved, and now included the "dwelling house, bark mill, tan vats and fruit trees thereon." Witnesses of this deed were Abraham Davenport and Ezra Smith (Probably Ezra Smith (Daniel, Henry), since he was not called junior).

Austin Smith received his second parcel of land in Stamford from Daniel Smith of New Fairfeld on 2 January 1772. this 26t acre parcel was on the East side of the Mill River below Taunton Saw Mill and on the South side of the Cross Highway, with boundaries as follows: (N) highway; (W) the Mill river; (S) partly by land in the possession of Joseph Webb and partly by Isaac Weed's land; and (E) heirs of Amos Smith, deceased.

The 26 t acre parcel was later sold to his sons Austin Smith Jr. and Peter Smith on 9 November 1784. No right of use was reserved, and it may be that Austin Smith Sr. went to live with one of his children at about this time.

In the 1790 census, he was shown as a head of family in Norwalk/Stamford (these towns were enumerated together) with only his wife and one other female resident in the household. This listing was immediately adjacent to the listing for his son Austin Smith Jr.

Taken together, these records all point to the career of a man named Smith who had some interactions with an established Smith family in Stamford, but did not appear to be a member of that Smith family by birth. No record of a residence for him in any other town is mentioned in these deeds. We have not found any record of his parents or grandparents in Stamford, or any mention of any blood brothers or sisters there. The name "Austin" certainly suggested that a connections with an Austin family existed, but none could be found with the Austins of Stamford. The unique name "Gold" for his first child suggested a connection with someone named Gold or Gould, possibly related on his mother's side, but again, no hint of a connection could be found. Where, then, was his origin?

All possible ancestors for Austin Smith in the Henry Smith family of Stamford wee eliminated by an exhaustive analysis of the evidence. For this reason, a possible origin on Long Island for two different Austin Smiths is proposed.

The main evidence under consideration is the baptism of "Austine " Smith (a male child) at the Huntington, Long Island Congregational Church on 24 March 1727/28. it was originally thought that this baptism might have been for the "other" Long Island Austin Smith, that is, the one from Smithtown who went to Orange County. However, this now appears unlikely: first, there is no other evidence of that child's parents James and Jerusha (Topping) Smith having any connection with the Huntington Church, and no others of their children were clearly baptized there; and second, james and Jerusha Smith were possibly living as far away as Moriches at this time, a trip of over 33 miles to Huntington.

Moreover, there were at least two Jeremiah Smiths, father and son, in Huntington in the early 18th Century. The father (at least) was a member of the Congregational Church where Austin was baptized. Austin Smith of Stamford named a son Jeremiah, and his eldest son gold Smith named his eldest son Jeremiah Smith. Old English tradition was to name the eldest son for the father's father. the family of Jeremiah Smith of Huntington is not well understood and is certainly a candidate for further analysis.

Austin Smith's sudden appearance in Stamford as he married Sarah Knapp in 1752 raises the question of his possible connections with Stamford families prior to that time. The answer may be that Sarah Kanpp's mother, Elizabeth Slason (1703-1733), was a sister of John Slason (1695-1778) who married Rebecca Brush, born in Huntington, Long Island one of the several Brush children who accompanied their widowed mother to Stamford from Huntington about 1724 or 1725. John Slason and Rebecca Brush were married some time before 26 october 1722 when their first children was recorded at Stamford. The place of their marriage is not known.

With the incentive of discovering a positive connection with Austin Smith of Stamford (unfortunately never found) a detailed study of the origin and relationship of the James and Jeremiah Smith families of Huntington was undertaken and subsequently reported in a major journal article. This study found no reason that Austin Smith of Stamford could not have been the child baptized in Huntington on 24 March 1727/28 but was unable to reach a conclusion regarding this identity......

It is quite unlikely that Austin Smith (Sr.) of Stamford ever served in the Revolutionary War. He would have been 48 years old in 1776 and saw four of his sons go out from their home, leaving him with the family to care for in Stamford. the earliest Revolutionary War record for any member of this family was specifically for "Austin Smith Jr.," with an enlistment in 8 May 1775....

"Connecticut Ancestry": Clement Buxton died at Stamford on 2 August 1657, one of those Stamford citizens to succumb to the general illness at that time now thought to have been malaria. His parents, and place and date of birth are completely unknown.

His wife's name was Eunice (?) (also spelled Unica or Uneca or even Unity in the records). After Clement's death, she married (2) at Stamford on 22 July 1658 Peter Brown, whose wife Elizabeth had also died in the summer of 1657 (21 September), probably another malaria victim. Peter Brown died on 22 August 1658, less than a month after this marriage, and "Unica Brown" then married (3) at Stamford on 9 March 1659, Nicholas Knapp. She appears to have died at Stamford in early April 1670. The will of Nicholas Knapp, made on 15 April 1670, probably shortly after her death, after providing for his own natural children, included the following provision for Eunice's daughters: "I give to my two daughters in law (i.e. stepdaughters) Viz: Sarah and Unice Buxton all their others clothes as a free gift: except one hat and one new petticoat which my will is that they should have owned of their portions: also I will and bequeath unto Unice Buxton the new bible as a free gift (also) My will is that the portions due to my two daughters in law, viz: Sarah Buxton and Uneca Boxton out of the estate of their father Clement Buxton I say that their portions be currently payd according to their proportion of that inventorie."

The lands of Clement "Buckston" were recorded in Stamford on 15 March 1650 (probably 1650/51) as part of the general inventory of real estate being made at that general time....

By the time of the 1701 tax assessment he had accumulated a real estate valuation of 112 pounds that was among the more substantial holdings in the town.

His inventory was taken on 3 September 1657 by Richard Law and John Holly, and contained 4 bibles and other books in addition to the usual real estate, livestock and household items, probably indicating that he was a literate man. the same inventory also demonstrated that he had shoe-making equipment, and also clothes made of leather. Jeanne Majdalany studied this inventory in detail as well as those of several others that were recorded in the Town Records, and made the interesting observation that he was, "the only man listed as having a desk and also a wheelbarrow."

"Connecticut Ancestry": Daniel Scofield was in Stamford by December 1641, when his name appeared on a list to be granted a 2-acre homelot with 3 acres of woodland. His name did not appear among the lists of persons who migrated to Stamford with the Rev. Richard Denton fro Wethersfield earlier that year, and he had therefore presumably come from some other place. His brother Richard Scofield, a later settler of Stamford (in about 2655), is known to have come from Ipswich, Massachusetts, and it is possible that Daniel had also come from Ipswich, although no records have yet been found for Daniel prior to his appearance in Stamford.

Genealogist have pieced together several versions of a Scofield family genealogy, but although several competent researchers have tackled parts of the job, no definitive genealogy has yet appeared. the most comprehensive treatment yet for this family has appeared recently in journal "Connecticut Ancestry", in a series of articles by two members of connecticut Ancestry, researched primarily by Blair C. Scofield of Orem, Utah and prepared for publication by Bob Spiers. Although these articles diligently attempt to identify places in the family for all descendants (and particularly to delineate the lines from the two settlers), they have relied heavily upon secondary sources, and have not contributed a substantial amount of original research except for their valiant attempt to resolve discrepancies among existing Scofield materials.

In his 1932 book commonly known as "Washington Ancestry", Charles Arthur Hoppin provided a considerable amount of detail on the career of Richard Scofield (his client's ancestor), but also mentioned Daniel's career in Stamford as well. Hoppin found that the surname had its origin in Lancashire, England, first noted in Rochdale, Lancashire in the 13th Century. Variant spellings include: Schofield ( the spelling used by Hoppin as a preferred spelling), Scholefield, Scholfield, Schofeld, Scholefeld, etc. The sometimes used meaning of "School Field" is discounted by Hoppin as an over-simplification. Although Hoppin stated flatly that the two brothers of Stamford "came from the lancashire Schofields," and provided some English data to confirm that this was likely, he was unable to provide conclusive proof of the actual descent (and, to his credit, did not guess at one either). later writers have continued to claim lines to the Rochdale family, but they are not yet confirmed by any rigorous study of primary records, and must be considered possible, at best. The English line for Daniel Scofeld given by the recent "Connecticut Ancestry" articles, is: DANIEL SCOFIELD (Alexander, Cuthbert, James).

Several other partial genealogies of the family have appeared. "The Scofield Dictionary" and "the Scofields of Northfield, Minnesota," both by Robert LeRoy Scofield, is available on a Connecticut Ancestry Society microfilm. unfortunately, the second half of the Dictionary's alphabetical listings of Scofields has been lost. Nevertheless, this work provided the foundation for much of the later generations in the Blair Scofield compilation.

Another earlier compilation was prepared by Harriet Scofield of the Western reserve Historical Society in Cleveland, and is known as "A Scofield Survey." This compilation was completed for publication in typescript form by Henry Burdette Whipple in 1972, following Miss Scofield's death on 21 June 1970. the compilation is in outline form and, although it was compiled by a responsible genealogist, is unfortunately not documented, at least in its published form. Another (unrelated ) harriet E. Scofield of Minneapolis also prepared an outline version of a limited Scofield Genealogy.

Once again, the work of Paul W. Prindle may be used with confidence regarding the early generations of the Scofield families of Stamford. Prindle gives an especially good treatment of the real estate transactions and land holdings for Daniel Scofield, that will not be repeated here. One of those land transactions, a gift of 10 acres from William Graves, deserves special mention since it may indicate a possible relationship to Graves (perhaps related to Scofield's wife).

The brotherhood of Richard and Daniel Scofield of stamford is proven by a land record in which, "I Rrichard Scofield doe discharge my brother Daniel Scofield of a sertain parsell of the coman fence in the East Field....etc.," dated 11th day, 1st month (March) 1666/67/ It appears that Richard did not arrive in Stamford until about 14 years after Daniel, since the first record there for Richard is the recording of birth of his daughter Elizabeth on 27 November 1655. Clearly, the two brothers had traveled by different schedules, and perhaps different paths as well, prior to their coming together in Stamford. Richard's passage to the New World was well documented in a passenger list, and we therefore know that he was on board the "Susan & Ellen" in 1635. Unfortunately for this present story, Daniel's name did not appear on this same passenger list, and researchers have been unable to determine his time of immigration. Hoppin claims that Daniel Scofield was in Massachusetts "for a brief period of months," and later in Wethersfield for three years before going to Stamford, but none of this is supported with documentation and appears to be a fabrication. To repeat, we simply do not have any records of Daniel Scofield prior to his arrival in Stamford in 1641.

Scofield and Spiers give Daniel Scofield's birth as "abt. 1616," but without specific reference. Hoppin said that he was "between 50 and 60 years of age" when he died (before 10 February 1669/70), which would give a birth year range of about 1610-1620. Other researchers has come up with a birth year of 1595 for Daniel Scofield, apparently based on earlier work by william A.D. Eardeley. No marriage date has been found, and only his last child's birth was recorded in Stamford in 1657, so no good reasons for speculation on a birth year are found in these areas. About all we can say is that he was probably an adult (21 years of age or greater) in 1641 when he received his land distribution at Stamford, and was therefore born before about 1620, probably in England......

The will of Daniel Scofield was made at Stamford 1 September 1669 and witnessed by George Slason and John Holly. He designated his wife to be executrix (no name stated) along with his tow sons Daniel and John, executors, and gave legacies to his daughter Sarah and her tow minor children, and to "my other four children" (that is, to Daniel, John Joseph and Mercy) the three sons to have the house and homelot (subject to the widow's thirds) and the residue of the estate equally except for the son Daniel who was to have "ten pounds over plus." He died sometime during the following winter, since his inventory was taken on 10 February 1669/70 (10th day 12th month 1669) by Lt. Francis Bell and John Holly. The will was signed with a mark, as was an earlier deed given to john Mead on 20 February 659/60, indicating that Daniel Scofield was unable to sign his own name and was probably not an educated person.

"Connecticut Ancestry": Daniel Smith had the second highest real estate valuation on the Stamford Grand List of January, 1701, being a total of 148 pounds, second only to Jonas Weed Sr. This was several years after his father's death, and much of his estate probably came from being Henry Smith's eldest son. Some of his family relationships appear in the land records: his son Moses in 1730; his son Ezra of Greenwich in 1730; his sons Jabez deceased, Joseph and Caleb; and his grandsons Jabez, Joshua and Josiah (sons of the first Jabez), all in 1733.

He also held land in Greenwich over the period from before 1713 until at least the 1720's. He gave rights in Greenwich to his son Daniel in 1706, to his son nathan in 1722, and a parcel of land in Greenwich to his son Benjamin, also in 1722.

In the distribution of his estate at Stamford in 1740, his living children were named as: Benjamin, Ezra, Moses, Joseph, Daniel, Caleb, Nathan, Ruth, wife of James June, Hannah (husband not named), the wife of Daniel Lockwood Jr. (unnamed), and Sarah (husband not named). In addition, reference was made to the children of a deceased son, Jabez.

"Connecticut Ancestry": David COULD have been many years older than Rachel, and quite advanced in years when their children were born, but I can find no other David of an appropriate age to account for this marriage, and must place him here not having any other alternative. the fact that his father specifically gave him land in 1711 does not prevent his being a very young person at the time. It does not appear that he had an earlier marriage, at least not one resulting in any surviving children. His will, made on 30 Oct 1769 and proved 1 Jan 1788, mentioned his wife Rachel, and only those children known to be Rachel's namely David, Nehemiah, Israel, Nathaniel, Rachel and "Asona".

"Connecticut Ancestry": Fortunately, Edward Franklin Weed was able to obtain information directly from members of this branch of the Weed family. In particular, three letters to E.F. Weed from Alanson Lockwood Weed Sr. have survived, relating some of his direct knowledge of his father's career.

Based on these letters and the E.F. Weed Notebook entries derived from them, we fid that William Weed and his brother Ira went together to Illinois in the 1830's. While in Illinois, William married (1) Margaret Winfield on 13 June 1839, and they had a single child, Alanson Lockwood Weed (Sr.) Margaret was the daughter of Silas and Nellie (?) Winfield, born 21 December 1819, and died 24 May 1842. She died when Alanson was an infant, and the father went back East, leaving the child in the care of others in Illinois, where he grew up not knowing either of his parents. Alanson Weed said that his father returned to "New York", but he has not been clearly identified in any New York City Directories during this time period.

William married (2) on 20 December 1843 (place not yet evident) Lydia Jansen, daughter of Clyman Jansen, born on 17 Nov. 1812, and died 23 oct 1889. They were living in Darien at the time of the 1880 Census, where her place of birth, that of both of her parents, and of their daughter Margaret are all given as
"New York".

All information in the following list of children is fro the E.F. Weed Notebook and is considered to be reliably based on direct information from descendants of the family.

"Connecticut Ancestry": Francis Holmes is another early resident of Stamford for whom English origins have not yet been identified. He died at Stamford in the winter of 1675/76.

The name of his first wife and mother of his children is completely unknown. He married (2), sometime after 19 August 1658, Ann (?) Stevens, widow of Thomas Stevens who died on that date in Stamford. Her maiden name is also unknown. On 20 December 1686, the brothers Obadiah, Benjamin and Joseph Stevens agreed that their mother, "the widow Homs," would live with her son Benjamin Stevens, with some support being provided by the other two brothers in the form of certain specified gifts of animals. And, on 1 April 1689, Ann holmes, widow, signing with her X mark, gave "asartain ox" to her son Joseph stevens. Francis Holmes had died at Stamford before 14 February 1675/76 when his inventory was taken.

He first appeared in the Stamford records in 1648 when he and a night watchman were both verbally abused by robert Pennoyer, who was "overcom wt. wine." Francis Holmes himself was accused for misconduct years later (1665) in another Stamford incident, and his son Richard was similarly charged in 1684.

According to Paul Prindle, Francis Holmes was a blacksmith, and always signed with his mark, indicating that he could probably neither read nor write.

His will was made at Stamford on 6 September 1671 and proved at Fairfield on 14 March 1675/76. His wife (unnamed) was to receive the house for life or until "Change of Condition by marriage;" his son John receive the shop with tools, iron, and steel; his son Stephen to receive the farm, horses, and farm implements; and both sons to share equally in the cattle and the remainder. His son Richard, daughter Ann Dean, and servant Cornelius were each to receive 5 shillings. He also referred to his son John's oldest son (not named) who was to receive "my short gunn." He signed with his "FH" mark, in the presence of witnesses Henry Smith, Ann Smith, and Matthew Bellamy. His inventory was presented on 14 March 1675/76, and verified by his widow on the same date. The small legacy to his son Richard suggest that he may have set Richard up in business as a blacksmith during his lifetime, possibly in Norwalk, and therefore considered that Richard had already received his portion.

"Connecticut Ancestry": He did not live long enough to enjoy the liberal benefits of the 1832 Pension Act, as did three of his brothers. His widow, however, applied for a pension on 25 July 1837 and it was granted, based upon the service of her first husband, Robert Stogdill. Stogdill's entry in "Stamford"s Soldiers" mentions that she later married Gould Smith.

"Connecticut Ancestry": He had children Thomas, Jeremiah, Daniel (b.1728), Hannah, Rebecca and Stephen recorded at Stamford. The will of Thomas Newman was made on 18 Mar 1743 and probated 7 Feb 1744, mentioning his wife Hannah and four sons and two daughters, but without names. Jonathan Newman, Timothy White and Benjamin Strong were witnesses. The inventory was taken on 2 April 1744 by Jonathan Newman and Stephen White. His widow Hannah married (2) 6 Feb 1746/47 Joseph Bishop. Thomas Newman's estate was distributed to his sons Stephen and Daniel on 16 Mar 1752, their mother Hannah Newman having married Joseph Bishop.

"Connecticut Ancestry": He was the youngest of four brothers in this family to serve in the Revolution. Except for a time in New York State at Greenville in Green County (where his pension application was first granted), he resided in the Stamford area, at New Canaan at least from 1820 until the time of his death....

"Connecticut Ancestry": Henry Smith was among the first group of settlers that came from Wethersfield to Stamford in 1641. It has been claimed that he was the "son of Thomas Smith of st.Mary Adermanbury England," adn was born in 1619 but this origin is not yet considered proven. "The History of Ancient Wethersfield" claims that he was the son of a Samuel Smith, but without further explanation. Robert Louer (author "The Smith Families of Stamford, Connecticut") has described these and other theories of the Henry Smith origin in more detail that will not be repeated here. Henry Smith died at Stamford, probably shortly after he made his will there on 4 July 1687.

The name of his first wife ha been given as Hannah ?, but not proven, perhaps an assumption based on the name of their oldest daughter. Sometime after the death of Francis Andrews at Fairfield 1662, he married (2) Ann/Anna (?) Andrews, widow of Francis Andrews. On 21 January 1664, Henry Smith confirmed a prenuptial agreement with his wife that discussed legacies in he former husband's will to three of her youngest children, Rebecca, Ruth and Abraham. She actually had a total of 10 children with her first husband, namely Hanna, Elizabeth,John, Thomas, Mary, Ether, Rebecca, Jeremiah, Abraham and Ruth. Ann's death was recorded at Stamford "the second week of June 1685".

"The lands of Henery Smith" in Stamford were entered in the town records on 26 March 1650, and included a houe and home lot of 1 1/2 acres bounded by Edward Jessup (N), common land (S), a highway (W), and the lands of Jeffrey Ferris and Thomas Hyatt on the East (E). Other lands recorded at the time were 5 acres + 3 acres of upland in the North Field, and 3 acres of meadow in the South Field. At a later time, 3 additional acres of upland in the North Field wrwe recorded on this same page of the town records as having been purchased from Edmund Lockwood in 1653.

The General Court (Assembly) of Connecticut granted Henry Smith 80 acres of land on 11 May 1671 "upon the acco' of his seruice at the Pequit warre." The town of residence was not noted, but we assume this was our Henry Smith of Stamford.

The will of "Hennery Smith" (who made his H mark in a feeble hand) was dated 4 July 1687 and witnessed by Joseph Garnsey and Abraham Ambler at Stamford. His son John Smith and his grandson John Knapp jointly received "my house and housing and home lott," to be equally divided. His grandson John Knapp was to pay all just debts and funeral charges. "All the other of my estate" was given to his daughter Hannah Lawrence, "expecting ye other of my children to be satisfied with what they have already received: my estate being so small."

"Connecticut Ancestry": In a few records, notably in 1714 at the time he and his wife Elizabeth were parties to the agreement regarding her father's estate, he was known as Daniel Weed Junior to distinguish him from the other contemporary Daniel Weed in Stamford at the time. soon afterward, however, the number of Daniels Weeds in town doubled to 4 heads of families, and the nomenclature problem became more difficult. In later years this present Daniel Weed was sometimes identified with his militia officer's title in the Stamford records and sometimes not, causing some confusion in interpretation of those records for us today. Paul Prindle noted that there were several Daniel Weeds in the Stamford records and admitted with understatement that, "It is sometimes difficult to distinguish one Daniel from another in the public records," so that whenever Lt. Daniel WAS identified with his militia title, it gave us a benchmark with which to place the other contemporary Daniels in their proper positions.

In one interesting case, the Stamford assessors chose to eliminate numerical titles altogether and named the four different Daniel Weeds on their 1738 tax list simply (and very effectively ) as "Lef Dan Weed", "Dan Weed Lef son," "Dan Weed," and "Dan Weed Dan son."

Part of the confusion with titles is due to the fact that Daniel's military offices were not held until rather late in his life. His commission as ensign of the Stamford 1st Militia company or trainband was created by the Connecticut General Assembly in October 1733 when Daniel was already 48 years old. Four years later on 13 October 1737, he received his commission as lieutenant of the same Stamford Company from the General Assembly, and this important title was used more frequently thereafter in the Stamford records.

Once again, the reader is referred to Paul Prindle's Gillespie book for a reliable and fairly thorough account of Lt. Daniel's career, but with the caution that some errors in the Prindle account of this family have been discovered as noted below.

Lt. Daniel's real estate transactions, many of which shed important light on his family relationships, were not detailed in Prindle's treatment. Whenever he chose not to use the military title in his transaction, care must be taken to be sure of the identity of the "Daniel Weed" that was meant......

The will of Daniel Weed of Stamford was made on 11 Sept 1762, witnessed by Abraham Davenport, Anne Belding and "Elizabeth Davenport Jr.," and proved 5 August 1766. His inventory was taken by Abraham Hait (Hoyt) and Benjamin Weed on 24 September 1766. A distribution was made and accepted by the Court on 16 March 1767 in which his lands were distributed subject to the widow's right of dower to his daughter Elizabeth Seeley, 8 acres plus 2 roods; daughter Deborah Scofield, 4 acres plus 3 roods; a grandson Silvanus Haity, 3 acres plus 2 roods and 12 Rods; and the remainder according to a complicated formula equally divided into four units, 3 to the surviving sons Daniel, Hezekiah and nehemiah Weed, and the fourth to four grandchildren, all sons of Reuben Weed, deceased, namely Reuben (Jr.), John, Eliphalet and Elnathan Weed.

On 8 May 1767, the "Legatees of our Honoured Father and Grandfather Lieut. Daniel Weed Late of Stamford," being Daniel Weed Jr. and Hezekiah Weed (sons) and Reunen Weed, John Weed Jr. and Eliphalet Weed (grandsons) quit claimed land at Strawberry Hill to (their brother and uncle) Nehemiah Weed. Zephaniah Weed, son of Daniel "Jr." witnessed his father's signature on this document.

"Connecticut Ancestry": In addition to the information on his military service in "Stamford's Soldiers" pp. 265-66, his Pension Application file states that he was wounded at the Battle of Monmouth and as a result had already been on the invalid pension list for several years before 1820.....

"Connecticut Ancestry": Jacob Brush, weaver, was born probably at Huntington before1667. He appears to have died sometime after 23 June 1724 when Henry Lloyd sold a canoe to him and his son, and before 30 April 1728 when the Huntington records referred to "the right formerly held by Jacob Brush, late deceased." As noted below, he may have died closer to the earlier date.

His wife has been identified through the Huntington land records as Mary Rogers, daughter of Jonathan Rogers and Rebecca Wickes. On 27 January 1701/02, in what appears to have been a wedding present, Jonathan Rogers Senior gave her several pieces of land in Huntington for "ye natrall Love & afection which I have & Doe beare unto my well beloved Dafter Mary Rogers." One of the pieces so conveyed was "Seventeen Acars of wood land to be taken up by ye sd Mary Rogers or hur husband Jacob Brush upon my Right in ye next division Made by or stated by ye towne" . The other parcels were identified as 3 acres on the east side of Cold Spring Harbor and "also a third part of my Medow in ye east neck." her father then went on to call her "Mary Rogers orBrush" two additional times later in the same deed. She was no longer called Mary Rogers when, on 24 October 1702, Jacob Brush and Mary his wife sold land in the little East Neck fields "which I the said Jacob had of my father (clearly meaning his wife's father) Jonathan Rogers senior" to Obadiah Rogers of Huntington, Mary's brother.

They apparently needed to move to larger quarters in Huntington as their young family came along since on 24 February 1703/04, Jacob Brush with the "approbation and consent of Mary his wife," sold his homestead for an unspecified amount to Jeremiah Wood of Huntington including, "my hous orchard hom lott fences yards gardens belonging to ye same siteuate Lying & beeing In ye Town of Huntington Contayning by Estimation Six Acars by it More or Less being bounded on ye north by ye Lott of Jonathan Scuder(,) on ye South by ye highway Leading to Oyester Bay(,) on ye East by ye streeet Leading to Hors Neck (,) on ye west by an old hedg formerly mad by ye sd Jacob Brush which Standeth by ye path yt Leadeth to wigwam Swamp."

Mary (Rogers) Brush married (2) at Stamford on "the evening following last day of February 1733/34" Lieutenant Jonathan Bell, one of Stamford's leading citizens. Jonathan Bell had been born at Stamford 14 February 1663 and died there in September 1745. He was married twice previously, first to one Grace Kitchell of New Jersey, and second on 14 Jan 1701/02 to Deborah Ferris, having a total of 7 children with these fist two wives. Deborah (Ferris) Bell had died at Stamford on 30 July 1724. Lt. Jonathan Bell was 70 years old at the tine of his third marriage.

The will of Mrs. mary Bell of Stamford, widow of Lt. Jonathan Bell, was signed (with her t mark) on 23 September 1745 (probably shortly after her husband's death, and certainly shortly after he death of her daughter rebecca) and proved 5 November 1745, naming her children Jonathan Brush; Ruth wife of Nathan Brown; Ann, wife of Nathaniel Brown; Keziah, wife of Daniel Weed, and grandchildren Jacob Brush son of Jonathan Brush; and the children of Rebecca Slason, a deceased daughter.

Considering that all of her children married into Stamford families, and that some of the marriages were as early as 1725, it is possible that the widow Mary Rogers may have moved to Stamford quite a bit earlier than her marriage to Lt. Bell would indicate. A date of death fo Jacob Brush might therefore have been as early as 1724, when we seem to have the last known record of him still alive. At this time, many of his children had just reached or were reaching marrying age.

"Connecticut Ancestry": Jeffrey Ferris was born in England say about 1610, and died at Stamford, Fairfield County, Connecticut probably about November 1666. Various reports circulate on the internet giving his birthplace in England in an assortment of places usually Leicestershire, and some of these give his father as one Richard Ferris, born in 1585. None of these reports has been confirmed or substantiated for this present compilation....

He was married (at least) three ties, but none of the marriages seem to have been recorded in Connecticut records. The death of his first (?) wife, probably the mother of all of his children, was recorded at Stamford, but her name has not yet been determined. She died at Greenwich on the 31st day, 5th month(July) 1658, during the time of the epidemic of what is thought to have been malaria that claimed so many Stamford lives in that time period. the Stamford record of her death is partially lost because the original page is deteriorated, but Donald L. Jacobus transcribed the entry in 1933 as "( )ne wife of Jeffrey Ferris." No further identification or explanation has been found.

The Rev. Elijah Baldwin Huntington, Stamford's first historian, while not naming Jeffrey's first wife, reported a tradition regarding her that may or may not eventually be confirmed by future researchers:
"Tradition invests the emigration of this (Jeffrey Ferris) family to this country with the hues of romantic adventure - the ancestress, high born, following her plebian lover out into this western world, to share with him here the fortunes which English aristocracy would not allow there."

Jeffrey married second, possibly in December 1658, Mrs. Susannah (Norman) Lockwood, born say 1615, the daughter of richard Norman of Salem, Massachusetts, and widow of Robert Lockwood who died in Fairfield before 11 September 1658 when his inventory was taken. Robert Lockwood was at Watertown during the period 1634-1646, and the couple must have been acquainted at that time and place. She had 11 children from her first marriage, 10 of whom were living in 1658, and many of them were young enough to move to Stamford with her when she married Ferris. Susannah (Norman) (Lockwood) Ferris died at Greenwich on 23 December 1660.

Jeffrey Ferris' third wife was Judith (Feake) Palmer, daughter of James Feake and widow of Lieutenant William Palmer. She had four young boys with her when she joined Jeffrey's household. His will set aside ten pounds apiece "to her four children that is to say this four boyes which I brought up and kept." After Jeffrey's death in 1666, she married as her third husband, John Bowers, and used his name in 1667 when receipting for her share in the settlement of Jeffrey's estate.

He was in America by 6 May 1635 when he was made a freeman of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, presumable a resident of Watertown at the time. he joined with other Watertown residents in their establishment of Wethersfield, Connecticut, probably later in that same year of 1635. He recorded his homestead in the Wethersfield land records on 26 April 1641, prior to selling a portion to William Comstock in that same year. he continued to hold land in Wethersfield until 1645, when he disposed of the remainder of his property there to John Deming. An early Glastonbury historian found by analyzing the Wethersfield Land Records that Jeffrey Ferris owned land in the eastern portion of Wethersfield at Naubuc Farms, on the east side of the Connecticut River at what is now Glastonbury.

In 1640-1641 he joined with those other members of the Watertown/Wethersfield party who went on to become the founders and settlers of Stamford, and his name appears on most of the surviving lists of the earliest Stamford residents. He then purchased land in greenwich from William Hallett and moved there about 1650. His connections with both Stamford and Greenwich constituted almost a dal citizenship, considering the different jurisdictions that controlled these two towns during their infancy.....

According to historian Jeanne Majdalany, Jeffrey Ferris was the operator of Stamford's town mill in the early years, and his sons were probably a great help in this endeavor.

Paul Prindle transcrived the will of Jeffrey Ferris in full for his book, "Gillespie Ancestors". The following excerpts provide us with information on his children and grandchildren that cannot be found anywhere else: "my sonn James Fferris...my sonn Jonothan Lockwood...my daughter Mary Lockwood...her husband Jonothan Lockwood...my son Peter Fferris his three children...my sonn Joseps two children...

"Connecticut Ancestry": John Conklin was born in England, probably in Nottinghamshire and probably before 1605, and died at Huntington, Suffolk County, Long Island, New York on 23 February 1683/84. the most common present spelling of his surname is used herein, except where a specific record is being cited, in which cases the actual spelling at the time is shown. Conklin Mann studied the glassmakers of England from the standpoint of trying to determine the origin of the surname and eventually concluded, "My guess is that Conckelyne or Concklyne is an English corruption of a Continental name; that Ananias and John Conckelyne were of the second generation in England; that their forebears came from Italy, Lorraine or Normandy, perhaps by way of Antwerp".

A submission to the pedigree Resource File of the Family History Library claims that he was born about 1600 in St. Peter's Parish, Nottingham, son of William Conklyne and Ruth Hedges, but this has not been confirmed with independent investigation.

He married Elizabeth (?Mylner) Alseabrook on 24 January 1624/25 at St. Peter's Church, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England. His presumed brother Ananias Conklin, with whom he was associated at several locations in America, was also married at this same church in Nottingham to Mary Launder six years later on 23 February 1630/31. Elizabeth died at Southold, Long Island on or before 26 mar 1671. Close associations both in Salem, Massachusetts and on Long Island suggest that she or her husband may have been related to the Scudder family. Rattray reported that John Conklin was married a second time to Mary ?, but no citation was given for this statement and no second marriage was reported by either Conklin Mann or Lawrence H. Conklin in their thorough articles.

Ananias Conklin was granted 10 acres of land by the own of Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts, on 25 June 1638, apparently for the purpose of starting a glass works, and he had established a glass making business there before the end of that year. The following year, 1639, Obadiah Holmes and Laurence Southwick joined Ananias in glassmaking. On 14 September 1640 the town received John Conklin as an inhabitant and granted him 5 1/2 acres near the "glass house". The proximity of ages of John and Ananias (as indicated by their marriage times) and their close relationship in Salem and later on Long Island have convinced researchers that they were brothers, although no specific statement of that relationship seems to have survived (at least in the American records). In spite of their apparently valiant efforts, the glass business didn't succeed. On 27 February 1642/43 "Ananias Conklin submitted a petition to the general court asking to be relieved of their obligations and allowed to seek 'a better accommodation of themselves" elsewhere, and the relief was granted.

Based on his extensive study of the career of these brother, Conklin mann has estimated that they left Salem in April 1650, along with Thomas Scudder and possibly others also bound for Long Island. John Conkin was certainly a landholder in Southold before January 1653, when he was mentioned as an adjoining landholder to Robert Ackerly.

Mann cited several documents that recorded charitable acts by John Conklin and concluded that "John Conklin was as generous, kindly man. He became an important but not a leading man in both Southold and Huntington. He remained Goodman Conckelyne through life and such public services as are linked with his name lead to the conclusion that men who knew him had the greatest confidence in his sympathetic understanding and integrity." Goodman "Conclin" and John "Conclin" Junr., both residents of Southold, were made freemen of the Connecticut Colony on 9 October 1662, during Connecticut's brief jurisdiction over that Long Island town.

On 26 March 1671, John Conklin sold his homelot and land in Hashamomuck (part of Southold) to his son Jacob, and although he continued to hold some parcels of land after this time, none of them appear to be residences. Mann's conclusion was that from this time until his death, John Conklin Sr. spent his time in both Southold and in Huntington, living with one or another of his children and their families. Huntington recognized his abilities by appointing him to important committees in 1673 and 1676. When his son-in-law Thomas Brush died at an early age in Huntington in 1675, John Conklin volunteered to be overseer of his young Brush grandchildren, and the Court approved the arrangement when John Conklin and Thomas Brush Jr. presented the inventory of Thomas Brush Sr. on 1 June 1675.

The will of John Conklin of Huntington was signed by mark and not dated, but was presented at the Court at a session of 18, 19 and 20 March 1683/84, at which time the notation was added that the testator had "deceased February ye 23, 1683/84". He mentioned my son John, my son Timothy, my son Jacob, he paying to Mr. Silvester 4 pounds and 10 shillings, Mr. Walter Noaks, my grand child Rebecca Hubert, Mr. Eliphalet Jones (the minister of Huntington), and my daughter Elizabeth Wood, sole executrix. The will was witnessed by John Corey, Samuel Titus and Epenetus Platt. No further probate papers appear to have been filed for this estate, and since only personal property is mentioned in the will, it appears that John Conklin Sr. had been successful in portioning out all of his real estate to his children and grandchildren prior to his death.

"Connecticut Ancestry": John Knapp must have been quite a capable young man, since he was named co-administrator of the estate of his grandfather Henry Smith in 1687, when John would have been only about 23 years old and apparently not yet even married. This does raise the question, however, about the possibility of an earlier marriage for John Knapp (prior to 1692) that has not yet come to our attention.

Also, at the time of the death of Thomas Lawrence in the summer of 1691, John Knapp had "the custody of most of the effects of the deceased, and verified the inventory," again signifying a position of considerable trust in the family. Perhaps John Knapp was living with his stepfather Thomas Lawrence even though his mother had died several years earlier in 1685.

He accumulated a considerable amount of property in Stamford over a period of a dozen years from 1703/04 to 1715/16. Interestingly, he continued to hold a total of 12 deeds for these properties without recording, until some event convinced him to record them all in the Stamford Land Records on the last day of January, 1733/34. One of these deeds, dated 2 April 1712, was from Joseph Ferris and Peter Ferris (Jr.) "both sons of Peter Ferris deceased," and therefore his wife's brothers, for 3 acres "whereon standeth ye new dwelling house and barn of sd John Knap."

On 20 May 1730, Capt. John Knapp, Joseph Smith and Caleb Smith all of Stamford made an agreement to divide about 80 acres of land near Lawrences Farm, so called, that they "have a joynt right to ye fee of and ye same hold as Tenants in common." Joseph and Caleb Smith were both sons of Hannah (Smith) Knapp's brother Daniel Smith, and the genealogical significance of this deed is not immediately evident. John Knapp may have received his right in this property directly from the estate of Henry Smith, for which he was administrator.

He was appointed Ensign of the Stamford Trainband in May 1707, Lieutenant in October 1710, and Captain in October 1716, and he was also elected to the respected position of townsman (selectman) of Stamford for a one year term in 1716.

"Connecticut Ancestry": John Reynolds was born in England say about 1610. The date and place of his death are unknown, and there has consequently been considerable speculation about his possible whereabouts during later life. he may have been the brother of Robert Reynolds of Boston, Watertown and Wethersfield.

A Sarah Reynolds died at Stamford on 31 August 1657 during the epidemic at Stamford thought to have been malaria. This record (alone) has let earlier researchers to claim that she was the wife of John Reynolds, but the original records does NOT give any relationship or age for her, even though the death was recorded on two separate pages. Since there is no other Stamford (or Greenwich) record that identifies this Sarah Reynolds, we must leave open the possibility that she was instead a daughter of John Reynolds, or even an early wife of one of his sons. Caution dictates that we refrain from accepting the earlier assumptions of other writers, including the usually careful Paul Prindle, and say only that the wife of John Reynolds MAY HAVE BEEN the SarahReynolds who died at Stamford in 1657, particularly since there are so few records at Stamford for John Reynolds himself.

A Sarah Reynolds, age 20 years, was on board the ELIZABETH, captained by William Andrews, that left Ipswich, County Suffolk, England for New England on 30 April 1634. Many researchers have speculated that this was the wife of our John Reynolds, who therefore must have come to America himself before that time, or who was on board the same ship but not listed for some reason. It is true that the family of Thurston Raynor and his wife Elizabeth were also on board that ship (along with others bound for Watertown) and the Raynors were also involved in the later migrations to Wethersfield and Stamford, as was John Reynolds.

Regardless of Whether this was indeed Sarah, wife of John Reynolds in the spring of 1634, it does seem probable that John himself had come at about that time since John "Reynolls" was listed next to Jeffrey Ferris on the list of persons taking the oath of freeman of the Massachusetts Bay Colony on 6 May 1635. these two men had very parallel careers at Watertown, Wethersfield, Stamford, and probably Greenwich, and their families intermarried, suggesting a possible relationship reaching back to their origins in England, not yet discovered.

On 14 November 1635, the town of Watertown "Agreed that Daniel Patrick: Brian Pembleton: Richard Bernard: Ephraim Child: Abram Browne: Charles Chaddock: & John Reynolds shall devide to every man his propriety of Meddow, & Upland that is plowable, & the rest to lie common."

The exact time of his arrival in Wethersfield is not known, but Wethersfield historians place it in either 1635 or 1636. On the other hand, Robert Reynolds, possibly his brother, is usually considered to be among the fist settlers of Wethersfield in 1635.

John Reynolds was certainly on the list of Wethersfield residents agreeing to settle at Stamford, and may have gone there early, with the first settlers in 1641 or 1642. However, there are remarkably few records on file for him at Stamford. He had no lands surveyed in 1651 as did so many Stamford citizens, and he was not mentioned as an adjoining landholder in any of the other surveys made at that time except for a single mention of John Holly's homelot as being "bounded by ye lot which was John Renoles". this lack of Stamford references has given rise to several speculations about a later career for John Reynolds, including a possible return to Wethersfield and/or to England, etc. Paul Prindle considered some of these possibilities, and added a few of his own, but without reaching any sure conclusion. At this point, and without further evidence, we must admit that the place, time and circumstances of John Reynolds' death are still unknown. Unquestionably, all three of John Reynolds' (known) children married into Greenwich families.

"Connecticut Ancestry": John Slason apparently died intestate, and his estate was administered by his eldest sons John and Jonathan Slason. His inventory was taken at Stamford on 29 November 1706 by Joseph Bishop, Daniel Scofield and Jonathan Bell; and the widow Hannah Slason appeared and verified the inventory on 5 arch 1706/07.

"Connecticut Ancestry": John Smith was generous with his sons. On 28 March 1709, he gave to "my loveing & well beloved sonns" Samuel Smith and Ebenezer Smith "all my land and meadow" on both sides of the Mianus River near Lawrences Farm, a total of 36 acres. No record of a similar gift to his eldest son John Junior seems to have survived, but most likely had occurred earlier.

John Smith Senior distributed the remainder of his property by deeds of gift just prior to his death in 1711. On 13 October 1711, he gave his dwelling house and homelot to "my loveing son nathaniel Smith," along with 3 acres "upon ye tobacco lots," two lots in the South Field of 3 and 2 acres respectively, and "an acre of medow salt & Fresh" in the South Field. From other information, Nathaniel was not yet 20 years old in 1711, and this gift of his father's house and homelot at that age is quite unusual.

Likewise on the same day, he gave "to my loveing son David Smith" three parcels in the North Field of 4, 3 and 3 acres, "all my right of land by ye Mill River," "all my right of medow in ye south field," and "all my right of fresh medow in ye woods". On the 30th of the same month (or perhaps on the same day as the above if thirteenth was changed to thirtieth in the transcription), he gave "to my loveing son Jonathan Smith" 6 1/2 acres in town bounded West by John Smith Junior, all his rights at Pepper Ridge and at the branch of the Mianus Ricer, and an acre of salt meadow in the South Field. All three deeds were witnessed by Joseph Mead and Joseph Ferris, and acknowledged on 1 November 1711, two days before John Smith Senior's death.

Ebenezer and Samuel Smith also received joint distributions from the town of Stamford, based on their father's rights, on 12 November 1711 and 19 April 1717.

The children Samuel, Ebenezer, Nathaniel, Jonathan andDavid are therefore clearly identified as sons in their deeds from their father, as just described. John is proven to be a son by his deed of 26 January 1711/12 (not long after his father's death) to Jonathan Selleck of land and rights which had belonged to "my father John Smith" and "my grandfather Henry Smith," and by a deed from his own son John Smith in 1743 which refers to his father John Smith (John3) and grandfather John Smith(John2). Deaths of the two youngest daughters were recorded in the Town records, two other daughters ere identified fro probate records as described below and there may have been other daughters not yet recognized.

Letters of administration on the estate of John Smith late of Stamford were granted to his son John Smith on 5 December 1711. His inventory was taken on 16 January 1711/12 by Elisha Holly and Daniel Scofield, and Joseph Mead, Joseph Ferris and Ebenezer Smith verified that part of said inventory that was in their possession. the estate was distributed to his children (not named in the record) on 6 February 1711/12 by Capt. Joseph Bishop and Daniel Smith.

Ebenezer Smith (his X mark) and Charles Smith divided several pieces of land by an agreement dated 29 March 1742. It is not clear how Charles Smith obtained the rights to make this agreement but this situation may signify that his father Samuel Smith, a child in this family, had died before that date.